La Pettegola is Banfi's Vermentino, and Banfi is a name most people meet through Brunello di Montalcino. This is the other side of the estate: a white from Tuscany, bottled under the broad Toscana IGT label, which is the appellation Tuscany uses for wines that sit outside the stricter DOCG rules of Montalcino and Chianti.
- Vermentino, the grape of the Tyrrhenian coast.
- Toscana IGT, Tuscany, central Italy.
- 2024, a young vintage, still fresh.
- 13% ABV, light body, dry.
- High acidity, low tannin.
How it is made
Vermentino is a white grape that ripens late and keeps its acid, which is why it holds up along hot coastlines from Liguria down through Sardinia and the Tuscan Maremma. It is made still and dry, without oak, so the fruit and the saline edge stay in front. Toscana IGT exists precisely so a Tuscan producer can bottle a grape like this without fitting it into a DOC mould.
How it tastes
Lemon and green apple first, then white peach. There is a saline streak through the middle that reads more like sea air than fruit, and it finishes on bitter almond, the note that tells Vermentino apart from Pinot Grigio or Trebbiano. High acid, light body, no sweetness and no tannin to speak of.
Good to know
Vermentino is grown across the western Mediterranean and goes by several names: Rolle in southern France, Pigato in Liguria, Favorita in Piedmont. Same grape, different passport. The bitter almond finish is considered its signature, and it comes from the grape itself, not from the winemaking.
